June 28, 2017 Minutes

The June 28 meeting of T-Toasters of Vinings was brought to order by Sergeant-At-Arms Josue promptly at 6:00.  Mary-Catherine served as Toastmaster with a theme of Embarassing Moments, and she shared several of her own blunders to make everyone feel comfortable laughing at their own.  Between having pants rip, showing up at work with different shoes and bungled speeches, we all had plenty to talk about!  Mary Catherine reminded the 19 members and 5 guests to not take ourselves so seriously because nobody else does!

Lee served as General Evaluator and led a team which included Carin as Grammarian, Alyssa as Ah-Counter, Jim as Timer and George as Ballot Counter.  Carin’s Word of the Day was vociferous, meaning maraked by a vehement or insistent outcry. 

First to speak was Lori with her 8th CC speech “Pop, Penguins and Pierogi: Pittsburgh’s 3 Ps”.  As a native of the Steel City, Lori shared some of Pittsburgh’s sights as well as some of the unique quirks of the residents, such as their love for pierogi.  Using both a Power Point presentation and food, she gave the club a tour from the comfort of the 3rd floor conference room.  Greg was Lori’s Evaluator and commented on the speech’s timing and organization as well as the humorous elements.

The evening’s second speaker and winner was Andrea with “Giving Dignity, Part 1”, her 9th CC speech.  Andrea moved the audience with her tales of families in Zambia and Peru and the different experience they had when receiving help from others.  Andrea emphasized the difference between giving dignity and giving dependence.  Best Evaluator Marcus enjoyed Andrea’s call to action, humble approach and preparedness.  He encouraged us to beware of “toxic charity”.  Andrea will give part 2 of her talk at an upcoming meeting.

Courtney was the third speaker with her speech “DVR Mama”.  Courtney shared how much she enjoys her downtime in the evenings with some of her favorite shows  and some of the hurdles that she has to jump to get to it.  Liana was Courtney’s Evaluator.  She found Courtney’s speech “engaging, entertaining and confident”.  Liana also commented on how relatable the topic was, as well as Courtney’s repeated use of trios in her speech.

Theresa served as Table Topics Master and had the 6 participants pitch book ideas.  Suzanne pitched “Sleeping with the CEO”, Kristina told us why she made her main character an alcoholic, Christian told us his mystery story was different from the rest because it took place in outer space, Nyria told us about her romancwe with a twist, George painted a picture of a salacious Coconut Grove thriller and Beverly, the evening’s winner, spun the saga of a serial killer.

General Evaluator Lee gave several concrete suggestions for future meetings.  She asked us to consider having all guests stand up together to speak, reminded us of the beauty of the relationships club members form, and challenged each of us to bring at least two guests over time telling us to “share the secret”.

Our guests, Nyria, Monica, Jonathan, Christian, Jasmine and Kevin commented on the high caliber performances, the laughter, the great energy, encouraging atmosphere and active involvement of group members.

President Jim closed out the meeting by reminding us to get (and stay) involved in our upcoming contests and events.  TLI or Toastmasters Leadership Institute is coming up at the end of July.  If you’re interested in attending, please contact one of the officers. T-Toasters of Vinings will cover the cost of this training for any interested member.